http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=56449

Mental illnesses growing in Japan

TOKYO: More Japanese claimed and received compensation for work-
related suicides and mental-health problems last year than ever
before, officials said on Thursday. A government report, citing the
number of cases leading to compensation, found workers who committed
suicide due to work-related stress hit a record 65 cases in 2006,
compared to 42 the previous year, said Health Ministry official
Junichiro Kurashige.

The number of workers who received compensation for work-induced
mental illness hit 205, up 61 per cent from a year earlier, he said
also a record high. The number of applications for compensation for
mental illness or suicide also rose sharply, to 819 cases, a 24 per
cent jump.

The numbers reflect a push by the government to get more workers or
their families to seek compensation if they are legitimately entitled
to it, and Kurashige warned that the compensated cases till probably
reflect only a tiny fraction of the overall problem, which remains
largely unknown and ungauged. Japan’s suicide rate is among the
highest in the industrialised world. More than 32,000 Japanese took
their own lives in 2004, the bulk of them older Japanese suffering
financial woes as the country struggled through a decade of economic
stagnation.

In response, the Japanese government has earmarked substantial funds
for programmes to help those with depression and other mental
illnesses and is more actively involved in trying to get those
affected to come forward through awareness programmes. The figures
are also seen as reflecting a change in social attitudes toward
mental illness.

Though once seen as shameful, more Japanese are willing to
acknowledge they suffer from depression or stress-related illnesses
now than in the past, and the government has begun easing its
compensation restrictions to allow more people to qualify for help.

“Before, people tried to hide that they were suffering from
depression,” said Mikio Mizuno, a lawyer specialising in death from
overwork. “Now, it has become more widely known that people suffer
and commit suicide from work-related depression, leading to more
applications for workers’ compensation. The psychological burden from
work is also increasing.” The Health Ministry report came as Tokyo
announced Japan’s economy continued to grow, though it had slowed to
a 2.4 per cent pace in the first quarter, was still healthy and
seemed to be stabilising.

The world’s second-largest economy slipped into stagnation in the
early 1990s after a burst of growth, leading to a series of
bankruptcies, layoffs and an increased focus on jobs with fewer
benefits and long-term security.

Comment:
Is mental illness really growing or is it just acceptance of an idea?
The idea being that we should label behaviors we approve of as
healthy, while we should label those we don't approve of as unhealthy.